Crowfeather's Trial/Chapter 2
Chapter description :Crowfeather chases a rabbit into the tunnels, following it as the passages twist and grow narrower. He stops, realizing that he can’t scent the rabbit anymore or hear it’s footsteps. The tunnel is too narrow for him to turn around, and Crowfeather panics as he doesn’t know where he is. He begins to walk forward and feels water flowing around his pads. He thinks about how cats have drowned in the tunnels as the water rises to his belly fur. He then spots a weak, flickering light ahead of him. Thinking it is a way out, he wades on until he comes to some kind of den in the cave wall. :He gapes in shock as he realizes that his mother, Ashfoot, is sitting there. She seemed to be the source of the strange light, but she didn’t have stars in her fur like StarClan cats do. When Ashfoot notices Crowfeather, she flees down the tunnel, and her paws seem to skim the surface of the water. Crowfeather cries in dismay, asking her not to leave him. He tries to follow her through the water, but she is gone. Crowfeather tries to ask her why she is not in StarClan, but only hears her ear splitting screech echoing through the tunnel. :Crowfeather shakes in terror, and lies shaking as his dream recedes. He thinks about what Hootpaw saw in the tunnels and wonders if it was just a dream, or if Ashfoot was trying to tell him something. He then contradicts himself, saying that Ashfoot had looked alive in his dream, not shining white like Hootpaw had described. But he can’t stop thinking about what Ashfoot could’ve been trying to tell him. He tries to shrug off the feeling again, saying that Smoky was just being stupid. However, he still feels troubled, and only catches snippets of sleep until dawn. :Onestar calls a clan meeting before the sun has risen. Crowfeather struggles to his paws to see his leader standing on top of Tallrock, with Harespring and Kestrelflight standing at it‘s base. Crowfeather wonders why this was all necessary if they were just going to organize patrols, and if Onestar had more to say. More warriors rise around him, and he spots Nightcloud and Breezepelt padding out to sit next to each other in front of the rock. Crowfeather twitches as if to sit by them, but he heads over to a different groups of cats instead, thinking that they probably don’t want him to sit by them. :The elders and apprentices emerge from their dens. The apprentices eyes are wide and excited, and Crowfeather guesses that they are expecting momentous news. He remarks that even Oatpaw, Leaftail’s apprentice, had been with the patrol the previous day and still looked excited. He wryly assumes that Hootpaw had probably already told all the apprentices, and that they might as well not have warned him to keep his mouth shut. Sedgewhisker and Emberfoot bound over to sit next to each other. :Larkwing heads toward them, but veers away to sit next to Whiskernose when the two cats give her a chilling look. Crowfeather is dismayed, as this behavior reminds him of when he had come back to WindClan after running away with Leafpool. He thinks about how it had taken many moons for his Clanmates to accept him again after that, and that it might take just as long for the Dark Forest cats to be considered true Clanmates again. :Onestar checks that everyone is there, then tells the Clan that Kestrelflight had a vision at the half- moon meeting. He tells Kestrelflight to explain his vision to the Clan. Kestrelflight says that Barkface came to him in StarClan, and gave him a vision about the tunnels. Crowfeather is instantly alert, wondering if the visions will be about what Hootpaw saw, or possibly his dream. Kestrelflight continues, saying he saw huge torrents of dark water gushing out of the tunnel entrances. The cats murmur with apprehension, giving each other frightened looks. Crowfeather thinks that it sounded like a terrible fate awaited WindClan, and he is glad that StarClan is watching over them. Kestrelflight says that at first, a wind kicked up and drove the water back, but that it eventually dropped and allowed the water to swallow up everything. :Crowfeather recalls the horrible moment in his dream when water had been up to his shoulders. Emberfoot then asks what it could mean, and Kestrelflight says that it may mean something dangerous is coming to WindClan. He says the way the wind controlled the water suggests that WindClan will win, but the fact that the wind then dropped meant that it will be a tough battle. The gathered cats break out into arguing, suggesting ideas about what it might mean and arguing with each other. Onestar yowls for silence, but no one listens. Weaselfur then suggests that the tunnels have flooded before, and it could happen again. After a moment Harespring meows that he could be right, and tries to tell them what Hootpaw saw when Hootpaw interrupts. :Hootpaw says he saw ghost cats, and Crowfeather guesses that although the apprentice was scared, he was enjoying the attention. Nightcloud gives him an annoyed glance, as if she doesn’t like her apprentice showing off. Crowfeather sees tick duty in Hootpaw‘s future. Yowls of disbelief follow Hootpaw’s announcement. Onestar asks Hootpaw what he thinks he saw, and Hootpaw again claims he saw ghost cats, and that they were trying to give him a message. Whiskernose asks why they would give message to an apprentice, and Gorsetail asks what it was. Hootpaw says that it didn’t say, and Heathertail asks if it sprouted wings and flew away. Hootpaw says that Crowfeather saw it too, and Crowfeather admits that he saw something, but that it wasn’t ghost cats. But many of his Clanmates still look fearful, and Crowfeather wonders if they don’t all share his denial of ghosts and if they all have bees in their brain. :Crouchfoot suggests that it might be the Dark Forest cats coming back for revenge. Whiskernose contradicts him, saying that the ghost was white, like StarClan. He then asks if Kestrelflight had seen all the cats who died in the Great Battle in StarClan, and he admits that he hasn’t. Larkwing suggests that their might be a way to bring them back, and Crowfeather scolds her for not understanding death. He then immediately feels sorry, thinking that she was just having a tough time in the Clan. :Onestar asserts that it wasn’t a ghost cat, and that they were definitely dealing with something real. He decides that he will send a patrol to investigate, and that they must be careful. Heathertail says that they will, and Onestar nods. He assigns Harespring to lead the patrol, and asks if anyone else wants to join. Crouchfoot suggests sending Breezepelt to fight the Dark Forest cats, and Breezepelt looks angry and wounded, clearly hurt. :Crowfeather is about to defend his son when Breezepelt volunteers for the patrol. Onestar praises him, but murmurs of dissaproval show that not all cats agree with him. Nightcloud then volunteers beside her son, and Crowfeather sees them exchange a loving gaze. Crowfeather tries to ignore the pain in his heart. He thinks about how he had always been to rough with his son, and how he had then turned out angry, irritable, and defensive. He then realizes that Onestar had been talking to him, and wanted him to join the patrol. He agrees, but knows that Onestar is just trying to get him to spend more time with Breezepelt. :After the meeting, Crowfeather and his Clanmates gather around the fresh-kill pile to eat before they head out. Gorsetail says that she thinks there are rats in the tunnels, and that a white kittypet had gone in after them. Leaftail asks her if that means she doesn‘t think it’s a ghost, and Gorsetail replies that if it wasn’t already, it is now, and that a kittypet can’t take on a whole colony of rats. Slightpaw asks if that is any different from what they’re doing. Onestar points out that they’re sending six of their best cats, and Slightpaw nods. But Crowfeather sees some of the others exchanging glances, and thinks that they’re probably suspicous of Breezepelt. Heathertail says that she hopes they do see cats from StarClan, and Onestar gently reminds her that it wasn’t ghost cats. Kestrelflight says that if there were, medicine cats would know. :Larkwing asks what they would say to their Clanmates if they did return. Whitetail says that she would apologize that they never got to live out their lives, and Leaftail adds that he would tell them they loved them. Crowfeather remembers all his lost loved ones, including Leafpool, because she was lost to him even though she was still alive. Onestar says that they cannot drown in their grief, and that maybe that’s what the vision was about. Whitetail asks how they could avoid grief if it is all around them, and Onestar responds that they must look forward and find out what is in the tunnels. Crowfeather nods, and thinks that this patrol might be just the thing to restore WindClan. Characters Major Minor Mentioned Notes and references Category:Crowfeather's Trial Category:Chapter subpages Category:Super Edition arc